🚦 Vision Zero, defensive driving and distraction

1. What is Vision Zero?

1. The federal programme that funds new bridges across the East River
2. The city programme that replaces old taxicabs with newer ones
3. The state programme that trains commercial drivers in first aid
4. The city policy that treats traffic deaths as preventable

The policy began in 2014 and reshaped speed limits, street design and enforcement across the city. Source: New York City Vision Zero action plan.

2. What is the default speed limit on a New York City street with no posted limit?

1. Thirty miles per hour
2. Twenty-five miles per hour
3. Twenty miles per hour
4. Thirty-five miles per hour

The default was lowered as the central measure of the city's street safety policy. Source: New York City Administrative Code, speed limits.

3. What does a posted speed limit lower than the citywide default mean?

1. The posted limit is advisory rather than binding
2. The posted limit applies only in school hours
3. The posted limit applies only to commercial vehicles
4. The posted limit governs on that street

Individual streets are posted lower where the city has judged the risk to be higher. Source: New York City Administrative Code, speed limits.

4. Why does the city treat speed as the central safety issue?

1. Speed decides whether a struck pedestrian survives
2. Speed is the easiest violation to detect with a camera
3. Speed causes more mechanical damage than any other factor
4. Speed is the only factor a driver can control on a city street

The chance of surviving being struck falls very sharply as impact speed rises. Source: New York City Vision Zero action plan.

5. Who is most at risk on New York City streets?

1. People riding in buses
2. People driving private cars
3. People walking
4. People riding in licensed taxicabs

Pedestrians make up the largest share of the city's traffic deaths year after year. Source: New York City Vision Zero action plan.

6. What is a slow zone in New York City?

1. An area with a lower posted limit and calming measures
2. An area where licensed vehicles may not operate at all
3. An area where parking is prohibited during the day
4. An area reserved for buses and delivery vehicles

Slow zones combine a lower limit with physical changes to the street itself. Source: New York City Department of Transportation.

7. What is a school speed zone?

1. An area where licensed vehicles must use their hazard lights
2. An area where only school buses may stop during the school day
3. An area where all traffic is prohibited during school hours
4. An area near a school with a lower limit and camera enforcement

The cameras operate on the days and at the hours posted on the signs. Source: New York City Department of Transportation.

8. How does a speed camera summons reach a driver?

1. It is handed to the driver at the next inspection
2. It is sent to the registered owner of the vehicle
3. It is served on the base that dispatched the trip
4. It is added to the driver's state driving record

Camera summonses follow the plate, so a leased vehicle produces a conversation with the owner. Source: New York City Department of Transportation.

9. Why should a licensed driver care about camera summonses even when the owner pays?

1. They prevent the vehicle from passing its next inspection
2. They are recorded as points on the state driving record
3. They are reported directly to the Commission as violations
4. A pattern of them affects the driver's standing and the vehicle's record

Owners keep track of which drivers collect them and the Commission has its own programmes for repeat behaviour. Source: 35 RCNY Chapter 80, Persistent Violator Program.

10. What happens to stopping distance as speed rises?

1. It stays roughly constant on dry roads
2. It grows in exact proportion to the speed
3. It grows much faster than the speed itself
4. It falls because the brakes work harder

Braking distance rises with the square of the speed, which is why small increases matter so much. Source: New York State driver education materials.

11. What are the two parts of total stopping distance?

1. Reaction distance and braking distance
2. Braking distance and following distance
3. Reaction distance and turning radius
4. Following distance and tyre condition

The vehicle keeps travelling at full speed throughout the reaction part, before the brakes do anything. Source: New York State driver education materials.

12. What increases reaction distance?

1. Worn brake pads and old brake fluid
2. Cold weather and low tyre pressure
3. Tiredness, distraction and alcohol
4. A heavy load in the boot of the vehicle

Everything that slows the driver's response lengthens the distance travelled before braking begins. Source: New York State driver education materials.

13. Why is a wet road so much more dangerous than a dry one?

1. Reaction time doubles in wet conditions
2. Braking distance grows and grip falls away
3. Tyres heat up and lose their tread pattern
4. Headlights become less effective in the rain

The first minutes of rain are the worst, when water lifts oil off the road surface. Source: New York State driver education materials.

14. What is the sensible following distance in good conditions?

1. At least three seconds behind the vehicle ahead
2. At least one car length for every ten miles per hour
3. At least two vehicle lengths at any speed
4. Whatever distance keeps the vehicle ahead in view

Counting seconds works at every speed, while counting car lengths does not. Source: New York State driver education materials.

15. How should following distance change in rain or snow?

1. It should be measured in car lengths rather than seconds
2. It should stay the same because speeds are lower
3. It should be reduced to keep the vehicle ahead visible
4. It should be increased well beyond the usual distance

Grip falls first and visibility falls with it, so the extra distance does two jobs at once. Source: New York State driver education materials.

16. How should a driver measure a three second gap?

1. Count from the moment the vehicle ahead passes a fixed object
2. Estimate the number of car lengths to the vehicle ahead
3. Watch the speedometer and divide the reading by ten
4. Use the road markings, which are spaced for the purpose

A fixed object and a count is the only method that works at any speed. Source: New York State driver education materials.

17. What is tailgating?

1. Driving in the lane reserved for buses during the peak hours
2. Overtaking on the right-hand side of a slower vehicle
3. Stopping across a junction when the traffic ahead is blocked
4. Following too closely to stop safely if the vehicle ahead brakes

It removes the reaction distance entirely and turns any sudden stop into a collision. Source: New York State driver education materials.

18. Who has right of way at an unsignalled crosswalk?

1. The vehicle already travelling on the road
2. The pedestrian crossing in the crosswalk
3. Whichever arrives at the crossing first
4. The vehicle if the pedestrian has not stepped out

State law requires a driver to yield to a pedestrian lawfully within a crosswalk. Source: New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law section 1151.

19. What does the city's Right of Way Law add to the state rule?

1. Striking a person with right of way can be a criminal violation
2. Pedestrians must cross only at signalled junctions
3. Vehicles must stop at every crosswalk whether or not anybody is waiting
4. Drivers must report every near miss to the Commission

The city took the failure to yield out of the traffic ticket category and into the criminal one. Source: New York City Administrative Code section 19-190.

20. When a driver turns across a crosswalk on a green light, who has priority?

1. Vehicles turning left before those turning right
2. The turning vehicle, which has the green light
3. Whichever entered the junction first
4. Pedestrians crossing with the signal

A green light permits the turn but does not remove the duty to yield to people already crossing. Source: New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law section 1151.

21. Which manoeuvre most often produces a collision with a pedestrian in this city?

1. Changing lanes on an expressway
2. Reversing out of a parking space
3. Overtaking a stopped bus
4. Turning across a crosswalk on a green light

The turning driver is looking for a gap in traffic while people are already crossing beside him. Source: New York City Vision Zero materials.

22. What duty does state law place on every driver towards pedestrians and cyclists?

1. To yield only where a crosswalk is marked
2. To sound the horn when approaching them
3. To stop whenever one is visible on the pavement
4. To exercise due care to avoid striking them

The duty of due care applies everywhere, not only at marked crossings. Source: New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law section 1146.

23. What should a driver do when a pedestrian steps into the road away from a crossing?

1. Slow down and avoid a collision
2. Sound the horn and continue at the same speed
3. Maintain speed because the pedestrian is at fault
4. Stop only if the pedestrian is a child or elderly

The duty of care does not disappear because the pedestrian is in the wrong. Source: New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law section 1146.

24. A pedestrian crosses against the signal. What is the driver's position?

1. He has no duty because the pedestrian is not lawfully crossing
2. He must still take reasonable care to avoid a collision
3. He may proceed once he has sounded the horn twice
4. He may proceed if the pedestrian is walking slowly

A collision remains a collision, and the driver is judged on what he did to avoid it. Source: New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law section 1146.

25. What is a leading pedestrian interval at a signalled junction?

1. The signal turns red for a short period in all directions
2. The walk signal runs for the whole of the green phase
3. The walk signal starts a few seconds before the green light
4. The signal gives priority to buses before other traffic

The head start puts people into the crosswalk where turning drivers can see them. Source: New York City Department of Transportation street design.

26. Who has right of way when a driver is leaving a driveway across a pavement?

1. Pedestrians already on the pavement
2. The vehicle, which has committed to the manoeuvre
3. Whichever of the two arrives first
4. The vehicle if it is moving slowly

Crossing a pavement means yielding to everybody already walking on it. Source: New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law, entering a roadway.

27. What must a driver do at a stop sign?

1. Stop only if another vehicle is approaching
2. Slow down and proceed if the way is clear
3. Come to a complete stop and then yield
4. Stop only when pedestrians are present

A rolling stop is a violation and is also how drivers fail to see people already crossing. Source: New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law, stop signs.

28. What must a driver do at a yield sign?

1. Sound the horn before entering
2. Stop completely in every case
3. Slow or stop as necessary to give way
4. Maintain speed and merge quickly

Yielding means giving way, which sometimes requires stopping and sometimes does not. Source: New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law, yield signs.

29. Two vehicles arrive at an unmarked four-way junction at the same moment. Who goes first?

1. The vehicle on the left
2. The vehicle on the right
3. The larger of the two vehicles
4. The vehicle travelling more slowly

The rule exists so that neither driver has to guess what the other will do. Source: New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law, right of way at intersections.

30. Who has right of way when a driver is turning left across oncoming traffic?

1. The turning vehicle if the light is about to change
2. The turning vehicle once it has entered the junction
3. Whichever vehicle signalled its intention first
4. The oncoming traffic and any pedestrians crossing

The turn is completed only when the way is clear in both respects. Source: New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law, turning movements.

31. What is the rule about turning right on a red light in New York City?

1. It is permitted for licensed vehicles only
2. It is permitted after a complete stop
3. It is permitted outside the peak periods
4. It is prohibited unless a sign permits it

The city is the exception to the general state rule, and visiting drivers are caught by it constantly. Source: New York City Traffic Rules.

32. What does a steady yellow signal mean?

1. Proceed with caution at the same speed
2. Speed up to clear the junction before red
3. Stop if it is safe to do so, because red is coming
4. Stop only if pedestrians are waiting

Accelerating on yellow is what produces the collisions the phase exists to prevent. Source: New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law, traffic signals.

33. What does a flashing red signal mean?

1. Treat it as a green signal
2. Proceed with caution without stopping
3. Stop only if traffic is approaching
4. Stop completely, then proceed when it is safe

A flashing red is a stop sign, and a flashing yellow means proceed with caution. Source: New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law, traffic signals.

34. What should a driver do when the signals at a junction are out of order?

1. Proceed as though the light were green
2. Treat the junction as an all-way stop
3. Give way to the larger vehicle
4. Follow the vehicle in front through

Treating a dark signal as a stop is what stops two drivers assuming the same priority. Source: New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law, traffic signals.

35. What is blocking the box?

1. Parking across a marked loading bay
2. Entering a junction when there is no room to clear it
3. Stopping in a bus lane during the peak hours
4. Waiting in a bicycle lane to make a turn

It is separately enforceable in the city and is one of the largest causes of gridlock. Source: New York City Traffic Rules.